Research Project together with an
International Symposium und Exhibition at the School of Applied
Lingustics and Cultural Studies of Johannes Gutenberg University,
Mainz, in Germersheim

Sponsorships for the International Symposium are
welcome!

1. Research Project: January 1 – December 31,
2003

According to historical records, a Jewish
community with a Jewish Synagogue existed from the 12th
(Song-Dynasty) until the middle of the 19th century in the old city
of Kaifeng in Henan province, China. The uninterrupted existence of
this religious and ethnic group, lasting for more than 700 years in
totally different socio-cultural surroundings strongly dominated by
Confucian moral and ethical principles, is a unique phenomenon, not
only in Chinese history, but also in the thousands of years of
Jewish civilisation.

Besides its long history, the Kaifeng Jewish
community had another conspicuous feature: Although existing almost
in isolation and without any contacts with the Jewish diaspora
outside China, it still managed to keep alive Jewish traditions and
customs for hundreds of years. However, although it experienced
neither discrimination nor persecution on the part of the Chinese, a
process of gradual assimilation went on. Up to the 17th century, the
assimilation of the Kaifeng Jews intensified and escalated. It
resulted in changes in Jewish religious and ritual customs, social
and language traditions, as well as intermarriage between Jews and
other ethnic groups, such as the Han Chinese and the Hui and Manchu
minorities in China. In the 1860’s, the Jewish synagogue in Kaifeng
collapsed because it had long been in disrepair. As a consequence,
Jewish religious life, together with the Jewish identity in the
community, came to an end.

The existence of the Jews in China was unknown to
the rest of the world until Matteo Ricci met a Jew from the Kaifeng
community by accident at the beginning of the 16th Century. It was
then that European research on the Jews in Kaifeng began, mostly
carried out by European missionaries. However, the Jews in China
remained almost unknown to Chinese society until the beginning of
the 20th century, although they had existed in the country for over
700 years. Together with the growing interest in Western cultures
among Chinese intellectuals during this time, the presence of the
Jews, and Judaism, began to be realized by scholars in China. This
subject had gradually developed into an independent field of
research by the time the People's Republic of China was founded in
1949. Due to the poor conditions for research on religions owing to
the political atmosphere in the country, research on the Jews and
Judaism in China came to a standstill until the beginning of the
1980s, when political and economic reforms started. The
establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Israel in
1992 accelerated the research work by Chinese scientists in this
field. Research on the Jews in China gained new attention around the
world through the reappraisal of the experiences of around 25,000
Jewish refugees in Shanghai during the Nazi period.

In recent years, research into the history and
culture of the Kaifeng Jews has been carried out not only in China,
but in other countries as well. Increasing academic interest in
related subjects is also expected in the future. This research
project will contribute to the international discussions of the
questions mentioned above. It will concentrate on the topic of the
social status and assimilation of the Kaifeng Jews into Chinese
society. On the basis of the latest sources and research results,
the following questions will be systematically discussed and
analysed:

- The current status of the descendants of the
Kaifeng Jews in modern Chinese society, which is now heavily
influenced by globalization.
- Presentation of related questions, such as the Chinese perception
of the Jews and Judaism, not only in
society itself, but also among scholars, from the historical,
sociological, religious, ethnic and ethnological perspectives.
- The self-reflection of the older and the younger generations among
the descendents of the Kaifeng Jews.
- Debate on the implications associated with Jews and Judaism as an
'Other', "a distant mirror in the construction of the 'Self'" in the
context of an emergent national identity and self-contemplation
amongst various social groups in modern China.

This project has the following aims:

- to pursue and process the research findings
gained during and after the international symposium From Kaifeng …
to Shanghai. Jews in China in Sankt Augustin in 1997. The relevant
data which have not hitherto been sufficiently taken into
consideration will be evaluated and analysed. New knowledge from
several international scholars will be introduced into the
discussion.
- to investigate the Chinese image of Jews, designated "Youtai" by
the Chinese public and among the descendants of the Kaifeng Jews
themselves: Since the beginning of its reform and opening policy in
1979, the Chinese government has pursued a new policy towards the
national minorities which does not officially recognize "Jews" as
one of its 55 minorities. Nevertheless, the descendants of the Jews
in Kaifeng have gained increasing recognition. For example, they are
allowed to keep contacts with Jewish communities abroad, to travel
to Israel, and to enjoy the same privileges as other minorities. A
personal document, which we obtained recently, shows that the term
"Youtai" (Jew) was even accepted in the family books of individual
descendants. This shows that, in the current relatively liberal
conditions, and through encouragement from contacts abroad, the
descendants of the Kaifeng Jews may be looking for a new identity.
This project envisages an invitation to one or two Chinese scholars
from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to participate in the
symposium. They shall represent the official Chinese policy towards
the nationalities and minorities in China.
- to continue the current debate among Chinese intellectuals and the
younger generation of scholars in China on the “Youtai” (Jew)
phenomenon within the framework of Chinese history, culture and
society. Young scholars who have been doing research on Judaism will
take part in the discussions.

2. International Symposium: September 19 – 23,
2003

An International Symposium on this topic is
planned for September 19 - 23, 2003 at the Fachbereich Angewandte
Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft of Mainz University in Germersheim.
International scholars, especially prominent Judaistic scholars from
China, will be participating in the symposium and will give lectures
on the relevant topics. This event will be based on the latest
research results, especially on the state of discussion which was
reached during the international colloquiums From Kaifeng … to
Shanghai. Jews in China in Sankt Augustin, Germany in 1997 and
International Symposium on the History of the Jewish Diaspora in
China in May 2002 in Nanjing, China. In addition, scholars of the
younger generation will also participate in this symposium to
present their research work. The symposium is open not only to
students and teachers from the university, but also to the regional
public.

3. Exhibition: September 19 – October 10, 2003

Parallel to the symposium, an exhibition on Jewish
culture in Kaifeng will be held for three weeks to present the
documents and objects from the exhibition in Sankt Augustin in 1997.
The opening ceremony of the symposium and exhibition will be held at
6:00 p.m. of September 19, 2003.

This project is supported by:- the German Research Foundation (DFG)
- the Center for Intercultural Studies (ZIS) of Mainz University
- the Ministry of Science, Continuing Education, Research and
Culture in Rheinland-Pfalz

We would like to express our deep gratitude for
all the generous assistance and sponsoring we received so far.